South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley speaks at a forum on July 22, 2025, in Sioux Falls about the construction of a men’s prison in the city. (Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)
A 15-member task force established by South Dakota’s attorney general will review the state’s open meetings laws and ponder possible changes.
South Dakota already has an Open Meetings Commission that reviews alleged violations of the state’s open meetings laws and can issue disciplinary letters to offending government bodies. The commission was established in 2004 and is made up of five state’s attorneys.
The Advisory Task Force Committee on Open Meetings Laws, announced Tuesday in a press release from Attorney General Marty Jackley, will have a different focus on the laws themselves and will include a wider array of stakeholders.
Among the 15 members appointed by Jackley are the heads of the South Dakota News Media Association and South Dakota Broadcasters Association, a lawyer for the state Department of Revenue and representatives for townships, cities, counties and school boards.
“Government, funded by the taxpayers, should be transparent,” Jackley said in the press release, adding that the goal is “to increase government transparency within our state.”
The group’s first meeting will be at 10 a.m. Central time on Tuesday at the George S. Mickelson Criminal Justice Training Center in Pierre. The meeting will also be streamed online. An agenda and meeting link are available online.
Task force members
- Michael Smith – Clay County State’s Attorney
- Austin Hoffman – McPherson County State’s Attorney
- Karla Engle – Chief Legal Counsel for the South Dakota Dept. of Transportation
- Kirsten Jasper – Chief Legal Counsel for the South Dakota Dept. of Revenue
- Tracey Kelley – Custer County State’s Attorney
- Dylan Kirchmeier – Roberts County State’s Attorney
- Dave Bordewyk – South Dakota News Media Association
- Steve Willard – South Dakota Broadcasters Association
- Shane Roth – DeSmet School District Board President and Associated School Boards of South Dakota President
- Garret Bischoff – Huron School District Board Vice-President and Associated School Boards of South Dakota Immediate Past President
- Gray Lobe – Clay County Commissioner
- Cole Heisey – Minnehaha County Commissioner
- Kellen Willert – City Attorney for the City of Belle Fourche
- Terry Sletten – South Dakota Association of Towns and Townships Executive Director
- Jim Urban – South Dakota Association of Towns and Townships Board of Director Member
